Sports

Kalou retires from international football after Nations Cup exit

Published

7 years ago

January 25, 2017

Kalou retires from international football after Nations Cup exit

Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou has announced his retirement from international football after the Elephants failed to advance to the next round of the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday.

The 31-year old has been playing for his country since 2007, in 89 games altogether; and was among the team that lifted the Nations Cup trophy in 2015 after defeating Ghana at the finals.

“I am 31, this is my sixth Africa Cup of Nations. I have been to a final and won another,” said the former Chelsea player Kalou, now with Hertha Berlin, after the defeat to Morocco in Oyem.

The defending champions were eliminated from this year’s tournament following a 1-0 defeat to Morocco, after earning just two points from their first two group matches. And though Kalou won the man of the match award but it was Rachid Alioui who scored the only goal of the game to move Morocco to the last 8 of the tournament.

“This time things did not go so well. There are young players like (Franck) Kessie, (Wilfried) Zaha… I think they are the future of Ivorian football and I wish them good luck,” he added.

DR Congo and Morocco finished winners and runners-up respectively from Group C, and will play at the quarter-finals of the biennial championship against the duo that’d emerge from Group D on Wednesday.

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